In 2012 I applied for a Creative New Zealand Grant to research and develop a collection of new furniture pieces. I was lucky enough to receive this grant at the end of that year.

The months that followed were a challenge, as well as the most rewarding time I have spent on a personal project. To learn about a new material that I had never worked with before - leather - and play with a process that is not commonly used with this material - submerge it in boiling water - was an eye opening, mind bending, stretching and unexpected journey that a really enjoyed.

The project was named Stretched. The nature in which the leather would contract in boiling hot water, the leather looked as though it had been stretched with some force to be in the place it rests.

Through this boiling leather process I learnt a lot, including letting go of my desire to control a process. I had to let the leather form its own landscape. I could hold parts of it to a shape, but what I did not hold down tight, the leather had a mind of its own as to where it would lay to rest.

Once I let go of control, the fulfillment I felt at being immersed in a process where the outcome was unknown was an absolute joy.